Waterlooville firm that designed and made vital valves for ventilators are thanked by Meon Valley MP Flick Drummond

PSI Technologies, in Waterlooville, are used to manufacturing components for medical devices, but when the coronavirus pandemic hit, they were called upon to help make specialist parts for ventilators for four major projects.

Their expertise and products were finally used in two of the schemes - Dyson’s CoVent and Oxvent for Smith+Nephew, King's College London and Oxford University.

They ended up going into full production - pushing themselves to the limit, working 20 hour days and manufacturing 50,000 parts from scratch in just a few short weeks.

James Devereux, managing director, said: ‘It was a remarkable effort from all involved. We have some very specialist knowledge, which we gave for free for the national good. We all worked very hard to try and make a difference.’

Not only did they create and manufacture a valve used in the ventilators destined to help keep people alive, the company was also creating a robot arm that can take coronavirus tests, to save humans from coming into close contact with people who could be infected.

Although not used in the UK, the company has given the design to other countries - with arms being made in Germany and India.

As part of this scheme, they designed a unique way to clean the parts, known as Ultra Violet Germicidal Irradiation, which has been taken up by the dental industry.

James said the firm now hopes to expand this into schools and libraries.

‘It can guarantee that things such as toys and books are virus free at the beginning and end of every day,’ he said.

Meon Valley MP Flick Drummond paid a visit to the factory to thank its 24 staff last week.

She said: ‘The visit was fantastic. It was good to hear about some of the cutting edge technology they are using.

‘We also heard about their products which use UV light technology to kill viruses and germs including Covid-19. Their equipment is already being used in dentist surgeries in Portsmouth and I hope will be rolled out throughout the country.

‘Their innovative products can be used in many other settings including schools and on public transport. I look forward to talking to Government departments about how PSI’s brilliant engineering products can be put into use in many different settings.’

James, who set up the firm in 1998, said: ‘It was excellent to get recognition for the hard work of the staff. We were pleased that Flick took an interest in what we are doing to try and help combat Covid.’